“Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is master of the counterintuitive observation.” —The New Yorker

“The most dangerous philosopher in the West.” —Adam Kirsch, The New Republic

As an unprecedented global pandemic sweeps the planet, who better than the supercharged Slovenian philosopher, Slavoj Žižek to uncover its deeper meanings, marvel at its mind-boggling paradoxes, and speculate on the profundity of its consequences, all in a manner that will have you sweating profusely and gasping for breath?

Welcome to OR Books

June 5, 2020"Frank Sinatra, Woody Guthrie, Arthur Miller & the Reds on the Brooklyn Waterfront" — BERNIE'S BROOKLYN excerpt published in the Indypendent

June 4, 2020"I don’t agree with those who claim that now is no time for politics... No! Now is a great time for politics, because the world in its current form is disappearing." — PANDEMIC! author Slavoj Žižek profiled in Haaretz

June 4, 2020"It is a sad paradox, but perhaps not surprising, that some of humanity’s greatest writing has been born in times of turmoil." — CAUTIVOS author Ariel Dorfman writes for the Washington Post

June 3, 2020"Anti-lockdown protesters show how the idea of 'freedom' has degenerated" — AN INHERITANCE FOR OUR TIMES editors Gregory Smulewicz-Zucker and Michael J. Thompson write for Salon

New Titles from OR Books

The Sinking Middle Class

A Political History

DAVID R. ROEDIGER

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Drawing on rich traditions of radical social thought, Roediger disavows the thinly sourced idea that the United States was, for much of its history, a “middle-class” nation and the still more indefensible position that it is one now. The increasing immiseration of large swathes of middle-income America, only accelerated by the current pandemic, nails a fallacy that is a major obstacle to progressive change. More

The Monster Enter

COVID-19, Avian Flu and the Plagues of Capitalism

MIKE DAVIS

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In this substantially expanded edition of his earlier book, The Monster at Our Door, the renowned activist and author Mike Davis looks at the COVID-19 pandemic now sweeping the world. More

People’s Power

Reclaiming the Energy Commons

ASHLEY DAWSON

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People’s Power provides a persuasive critique of a market-led transition to renewable energy. It surveys the early development of the electric grid in the United States, telling the story of battles for public control over power during the Great Depression. More

The Deep End

The Literary Scene in the Great Depression and Today

JASON BOOG

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It’s tough being an author these days, and it’s getting harder. A recent Authors Guild survey showed that the median income for all published authors in 2017, based solely on book-related activities, was just over $3,000, down more than 20% from eight years previously. Roughly 25% of authors earned nothing at all. Price cutting by retailers, notably Amazon, has forced publishers to pay their writers less. A stagnant economy, with only the rich seeing significant income increases, has hit writers along with everyone else. More

War in the Age of Trump

The Fall of ISIS, the Betrayal of the Kurds, the Conflict with Iran

PATRICK COCKBURN

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In this successor to his bestselling The Rise of Islamic State, which was translated into 16 languages, and the widely-acclaimed The Age of Jihad, prize-winning foreign correspondent Patrick Cockburn provides a clear-sighted and closely-observed account of the Middle East wars conducted by Donald Trump during the first term of his presidency. More

An Inheritance for Our Times

Principles and Politics of Democratic Socialism

GREGORY SMULEWICZ-ZUCKER and MICHAEL J. THOMPSON

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An Inheritance for Our Times is a reader that includes original essays in the form of both personal accounts and intellectual arguments from activists and theorists advocating a democratic socialist outlook. More

Bernie’s Brooklyn

How Growing Up in the New Deal City Shaped Bernie Sanders’ Politics

THEODORE HAMM

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Bernie Sanders’ tilt at the US presidency has come under fire from an establishment that derides his social democratic policies as alien to the American way. But, as Ted Hamm reveals in this engaging and concise history, the sort of socialism Bernie advocates was commonplace in the Brooklyn where he grew up in the 1940s and 50s. More

Tales of Two Planets

Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World

JOHN FREEMAN

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Building from his acclaimed anthology Tales of Two Americas, beloved writer and editor John Freeman draws together a group of our greatest writers from around the world to help us see how the environmental crisis is hitting some of the most vulnerable communities where they live. More

Lucid Dreaming

Conversations with 29 Filmmakers

PAMELA COHN

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Lucid Dreaming is an unprecedented global collection of discussions with documentary and experimental filmmakers, giving film and video its rightful place alongside the written word as an essential medium for conveying the most urgent concerns in contemporary arts and politics. More

Surf, Sweat and Tears

The Epic Life and Mysterious Death of Edward George William Omar Deerhurst

ANDY MARTIN

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Surf, Sweat and Tears takes us into the world of global surfing, revealing a dark side beneath the dazzling sun and cream-crested waves. Here is surf noir at its most compelling, a dystopian tale of one man’s obsessions, wiped out in a grizzly true crime. More

Hate Inc.

Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another

MATT TAIBBI

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In this characteristically turbocharged new book, celebrated Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi provides an insider’s guide to the variety of ways today’s mainstream media tells us lies. Part tirade, part confessional, it reveals that what most people think of as “the news” is, in fact, a twisted wing of the entertainment business. More

Cautivos

ARIEL DORFMAN

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Set in the last years of the 16th century, Cautivos is a meditation on writing, writers, and creativity. More than that, this short novel is about confinement, both of the mind and of the body, and therefore also about liberation. More

This finely-honed indictment by a writer widely acknowledged for his forensic skills is directed at Fatou Bensouda, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. It sets out how she defiled her office by refusing to investigate credible allegations of Israeli criminality. More

Dialogues on Consciousness

RICCARDO MANZOTTI and TIM PARKS

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Fifteen conversations between a celebrated writer and a philosopher/robotics engineer that delve into basic questions surrounding our existence, covering topics such as “Where Are Words?”, “The Reality of Dreams,” “The Object of Consciousness,” and “Does Information Smell?” More

A Public Service

Whistleblowing, Disclosure and Anonymity

TIM SCHWARTZ

Available Now

Governments and corporations now have the tools to track and control us as never before. In this whistleblowing how-to, we are provided with tools and techniques to fight back and hold organizations, agencies, and corporations accountable for unethical behavior. More